Breaking down the 49ers

What they do

On offense, as you may have noticed last week, the 49ers employ plenty of the read-option orchestrated by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who also gained large chunks of his 181 rushing yards against Green Bay when he left the pocket on designed pass plays. With the Falcons forced to account for Kaepernick along the edges, don’t be surprised if the 49ers offer a change-up. Frank Gore and LaMichael James could take plenty of read-option handoffs in an attempt to gouge the middle of Atlanta’s front four, which averages 271 pounds. On defense, there’s nothing too exotic, thanks to the presence of a franchise-record five Pro Bowl starters. One of those starters, defensive tackle Justin Smith, returned last week and flashed his old form. His stunts with outside linebacker Aldon Smith help supply much of the pass-rushing pressure, allowing San Francisco to blitz infrequently.

How they win

On defense, they stuff the run, drop defenders into coverage and frustrate even the best of quarterbacks (see Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady, who was flummoxed for two quarters). They went 4-0 this season against those quarterbacks and they are 10-1 when allowing fewer than 100 yards on the ground. On offense, they’ve tweaked their attack to account for Kaepernick’s unique blend of arm strength and speed, which has provided an array of big plays. Kaepernick has accounted for 36 running or passing plays of at least 20 yards in his eight starts. In his nine starts, Alex Smith had 23 plays of 20-plus yards. It’s not all flashy, though. They can also win ugly in the trenches behind one of the NFL’s best offensive lines.

How they can be beaten

Teams that can’t achieve offensive balance don’t have much of a chance. Last week, the Packers curiously abandoned the run after they had 56 yards on 10 first-half carries and trailed 24-21 at halftime. They had six running attempts in the final two quarters and trailed 45-24 before a garbage-time TD. The air-it-out all-the-time strategy has been ineffective against a defense with three top-level cornerbacks and sideline-to-sideline inside linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. On defense, commit the necessary resources to hemming in Kaepernick and the run game and take your chances on the QB beating you through the air. It’s not that Kaepernick can’t do that, but it’s the soundest strategy against an offense that counts Michael Crabtree as its only player with more than 42 regular-season receptions.